Investigation of excitation functions of 57Co radioisotope production reactions

Radioisotopes used in the field of health are generally produced with cyclotron and nuclear reactors. The target nucleus and the cross-sections of the reaction determine the reaction of radioisotopes and the energy of the particles used in production. The 57Co radioisotope is used in Schilling's test for vitamin B12 deficiency. Gastrointestinal vitamin B12 absorption assay is among the first tests offered by nuclear medicine laboratories. In this study, the excitation functions of alpha-induced 55Mn(⍺,2n), 54Fe(⍺,p), 56Fe(⍺,2n+p), 59Co(⍺,2n+⍺), 59Co(⍺,x) and 58Ni(⍺,p+⍺) reactions were investigated as 57Co radioisotope production reactions. The calculations were realized with TALYS 1.8 code, then experimental data obtained from EXFOR library and theoretical calculation results were compared and reaction cross-sectional graphs were presented.